Walmart Had What I Needed...

I thought that some of you would be interested in what I found at Walmart this morning.

They have started carrying assortments of wood that can be useful in minis.  The two sacks in the center are an assortment of square dowels.  Handy for bed and table legs...

The gigantic tongue depressors are 10 1/2" long and 1 1/4 inches wide.  Good size for a lot of things in mini.

I got the cards to wind the rest of the trims on.  That is the way I usually store them.  That way I can see everything at one glance.

I tired Tessie out yesterday.  She has spent the whole day laying on the bed, eating cupcakes and watching TV.

I, on the other hand, have finished straightening the box with all of the trims.  I still have a few trims to put on cards, but that won't take long.

I also straightened the box with the silk ribbon and bunka. 
I think that one is pretty much done.

I am going back and wind the rest of the  trims on cards.  Then I will have another section of the workroom neat and tidy...

I am getting there... Slowly but surely.

See you tomorrow.

As Promised...

I told you and Tessie that I would make a mini today... I decided that the quickest thing that I could do was a jewelry box.

I have Wednesday Witches to go to, so it has to be a quickie.

I got out some base molding and cut two long pieces(in this case about an inch) and two short pieces(5/8). I mitered the corners at 45 degrees out from the inner edge to the outer corner.  The inner edge is where you measure the 5/8ths and the 1".

I glued the pieces together around a base piece that measured 1" by 5/8". I used the gluing jig to hold the box together until dry.

I made a top for the box with a piece that was about 3/4" by 1 1/4".  Another piece the same size as the bottom was glued on top of that.

Everything was sanded and stained.  I would recommend staining the wood before gluing. That way you get a more even coat. I didn't this time because I was in a hurry. My bad!

 After everything was dry, I put some gold findings on top.  These were just some that were easily reachable. Don't tell Tessie.  She will want them ripped of and replaced with solid gold! These were from Walmart.

I will spray the whole thing with a varnish after a day or so. I like to make sure that everything is dry before the final coat.

You can do this project with any kind of trim molding. It just depends on how you cut it as to how big your box will be.

I used to make these to sell at shows.  I did quite a few that were hand carved and one of a kind.  You can get as fancy or plain as you want.

You may be wondering if it opens... Yes.  I used a piece of silk ribbon just a bit shorter than the length of the box.  I glued half of the length to the box.  Then after that dried I folded it over and glued the other half to the top, where I wanted it to hinge.

I have to go get ready to go to the Witchy meeting now.

See you tomorrow.

No More Furniture...

Another one of my early heroes in miniature has retired.

Some of you may have heard of Jack Chasteen.  He is a furniture maker in mini. 

He and his wife did lots of shows on the west coast...I am not sure about elsewhere.  They had done the show here in Tucson as long as I have been in minis.

They live in Prescott.  Northern part of AZ.  My friend Barb used to live up there and just went back last week.

She came to Wednesday  group yesterday.  The Chasteens are not going to be doing minis. 

At the same time, she brought a lot of his samples of wood.  He used woods from all over the world.

The ones on the string were samples that he used to carry to shows.  The other ones were just spares. 

I took them thinking, lots of small table tops...Some of the larger ones would be OK, but the smaller ones weren't even big enough for candle stands.  What to do?

Last night I got the idea of turning them into jewelry...I don't know if it will work, but I am going to try.  The wood is too beautiful to hid away in a drawer somewhere.

Meanwhile, Tessie found out that I had basket making supplies that I took to the Witches meeting...
Unhappy witch?  You bet!

Zar wouldn't let her throw the baskets out.  He threw her out instead...Now we know where Tessie stands on Zar's list of useful items...

She is hanging on by the skin of her teeth ...

I also started another one.  Of course, that didn't set well with her either.

Here is a close up of the basket that I finished at the meeting.  The stones on it are real turquoise.

It is a Tennessee Spinner gourd base, with two strands of over dyed floss. 

In the close up it looks coarse.  In real life, it is fine.  Sorry about that.

I am going now to rescue Tessie.  Maybe she will mind her manners the rest of the day.

See you tomorrow.